The PSA Group recently took over most of
GM’s European operations, absorbing along with them the Opel and Vauxhall
brands. Given how long it generally takes to develop new vehicles, it’ll likely
take years before all the brands under the French automaker’s expanding
umbrella.
It’s a commercial van that’ll be sold by
Peugeot as the Partner, by Citroën as the Berlingo, and by Opel and Vauxhall as
the Combo. We’ve already seen each in passenger configurations, but now they’ve
each released their respective cargo versions as well.
Though each are branded differently and
even wear distinctly different fascias, the basic parameters are the same.
They’re each available in two lengths – measuring 4.4 meters or
4.75 meters – and with two cab configurations. They’ll also be offered with
gasoline and diesel engines ranging from 75-130 Hp,
hauling up to 1,000 kg and swallowing up to 4,400 liters of stuff. And despite their utilitarian position, they pack all the
latest infotainment, driver-assistance, and safety tech that one of Europe’s
largest automakers has to throw at ’em.
The Peugeot Partner and Citroën Berlingo
arrive at dealers as the third generations of some of the most successful light
commercial vehicles on the European market. The Opel Combo arrives in its fifth
generation to replace a model not made by General Motors but by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which sells
its version as the Fiat Doblo and Ram ProMaster City – and only goes to show
just how tangled the web is between global automakers in the commercial-vehicle
market.
The new models compete with the Renault
Kangoo, Nissan NV200, VW Caddy, Ford Transit Connect, and so many more in a
market that last year accounted for some 750,000 vehicles in Europe alone.
